Brokenly Breathtaking
by A Gold Guitar Charm
Summary: Based on the scene where Emily/Toby talk in 3x01. But I added my own twist ; read to find out more. This is not a oneshot anymore, this story will be known as multi-chapter from now on.
1. Coffee Talks

_breathe easy love you've made it now, stand tall and proud your rusty bow._

_-x-_

Emily stared blankly into her hot tea as she waited for her friend Toby to arrive. He was one of the people she could easily discuss her problems with. Of course she had Aria, Hanna, and Spencer but she liked getting advice from a guy's perspective. She was broken out of her thoughts by a pair of soft yet firm hands curling around her broad lean swimmer shoulders. She whipped around giving the person a mouthful of brown and blonde highlighted hair. "Well hello to you too," Toby joked as he inspected his mouth for any stray hair. "Sorry," she replied quickly her hands stretching up to fix her hair. "How are you?" the brunette asked wrapping her arms around her handsome grey eyed friend. "I'm good Em," he said pulling back and inspecting her.

"The important question here is how are you?" he asked his friend worriedly. "I - I honestly don't know." She quietly whispered loud enough for him to hear as she fiddled with the little string dangling out of her steaming green tea flavored beverage. He sadly gazed at her and put a hand on her arm. "I'm so sorry love, I mean what kind of sick person would something like that?" Emily shut her eyes willing herself not to cry in a public place as he wrapped his arms around her in a strong comforting, and protective way. She sniffled. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?" she questioned quietly as they pulled away. "Sure Em," he replied in a soft tone before they downed their drinks and each set down crumpled fives onto the counter and headed out the door and towards Toby's small brown truck.

"Where to Emily?" "How about the forest?" she suggested shyly. Toby agreed, giving his friend a small smile.

* * *

The forest was secluded and surrounded by thick foliage, which was exactly what Emily wanted. When he came to a complete stop in front of an oak tree, she felt her heart beat a little faster. He then leaned over and undid her seat belt, then attended to his then turned to her. "Alright Em, I'm all ears." Emily took a nervous breath before everything tumbled out of her. By the time she finished -which took about an hour- she had silent tears flowing from her deep mahogany eyes, down her face and onto the worn and cracked leather of the seat.

Meanwhile Toby was gazing at her helplessly knowing in his heart that no matter what he said or did could reverse the pain already inflicted upon this brokenly beautiful the gently grasped both of her small hands and placed them in between his squeezing reassuringly as a sign that he was here for her. Toby reached for a kleenex on the dashboard and gently wiped the tears and smudged mascara away. Then he lifted her head with his index finger so that her red puffy eyes met his clear gray then abruptly leaned forward and placed her pale pink cracked lips onto his soft equally pink ones.

At first he stood there frozen. But as the shock faded away he melted into her, feeling her long eyelashes brush against his skin, and her heat mix with his. Momentarily he tangled his hands into her long thick dark hair. This moment of intimacy was filled with sorrow, sympathy, and mixed feelings. As Emily pulled back and dizzily looked into his soft grey eyes she felt horrible, they were just friends, and she was leading him on.

"Sorry," she blurted out. "I just - I was feeling so many things at once and I-" Toby placed a finger on her lips to silence her. "It's okay Em, don't apologize." As she turned her gaze towards the window she noticed the sun beginning to set. "Can you drive me home?" she asked shyly. "Sure," Toby replied as he started the truck and pulled out of the forest. As they stopped at an intersection Emily noticed a black car with darkly tinted windows following them. Her heart sped up. _What if that's A?_ She thought to herself. But she shrugged it off as it turned the other way when the light turned green.

Once the two friends were on the highway Emily noticed the black car from the intersection barreling towards them at full speed. Her heart that was breaking minutes before was now threatening to jump out of her chest. "TOBY!" she screeched as she gestured towards the oncoming car clamping her hand on his arm. Wide eyed he tried to swerve out of the way but it was too late, as they crashed head on with the car.

Everything slowed down as the impact of the collision sent the back of their heads slamming into the headrests, giving them momentary disorientation. Shortly after sound became magnified as glass exploded and the sound of her heart restlessly pumping blood throughout her body to keep her responsive screamed in her ears. Slowly pain began ravishing her frail body until she was left feeling numb. As the darkness was taking over she felt him lace his fingers with her wreak bruised ones and a strangled cry of the words "Emily" and "I love you." as everything slipped away.


	2. Hospital Visits

_some things we don't talk about, rather do without, and just hold the smile._  
_falling in and out of love. ashamed and proud of, together all the while._

_-x-_

Everything _hurt_. Breathe in, pain. Breathe out, pain. Emily had been physically injured before, because as a pro swimmer she had suffered her fair share of sprains, breaks, and even an ulcer, but nothing like _this. _ She felt as if every bone in her body was was being weighed down by bricks, and one wrong move would break them, and they would dissolve into dust. Ever so slowly, she opened her eyes, only to be partially blinded by bright fluorescent lights over her head. She blinked for a while; waiting for her eyes to adjust. Then finally she examined her surroundings. There were machines on both her sides, the right side contained the little bag of IV and a heart monitor. To her left there was a machine she had never seen before, but she saw a little plastic bag full of blood, which was being pumped into her weak body through a tube which was attached into the crook of her elbow.

_No, oh please no. _Emily thought to herself, as the memories came flooding back, one by one._ Toby meeting her to talk, them going to the woods where she confessed everything. Emily kissing him. Emily then apologizing, and Toby telling her it was fine, and driving her home. As they were passing an intersection, Emily saw a car and thought it was 'A'. Then when they where on the road, the exact same car was coming straight at them, and everything went dark._ With a struggle she managed to sit up, and grab the little mirror on the bedside table and glimpsed at her face. Her long thick hair was tangled, and a bandage was wrapped around her head tightly, and if she turned, she could see some dried blood, staining the white. There were scars on her neck, and a gash along her collarbone. When she turned her head, there were even more scars. Her eyes were blood-shot and her cheeks were hollow. Emily's lips still remained cracked.

At that exact moment, a kind looking nurse wearing a purple uniform walked in. "Well hello sunshine, how do you feel?" "Everything hurts, but I'll manage," she told the nurse truthfully. The nurse gave Emily a sympathetic look. "I am so sorry about what happened to you and your friend." Emily's eyes widened. "Where is Toby? Is he okay?" Emily asked nervously. "It's a complete surprise, but he is totally fine, except for a few scars and stitches here and there, he's been asking to see you for a while now." Emily breathed out a painful sigh of relief. "Can I see him now?" Emily asked hopefully. "Of course, I'll go get him," the nurse assured her with a smile as she headed out the door. "Thank you," Emily called after her, although she knew the nurse was already out of earshot. Seconds later, Toby ran into her room, and halted to a stop, his sneakers screeching against the waxed floor.

All Toby could do was stare. He couldn't believe it. When the ambulance whisked her away, they told him that she had less than a fifty percent chance of surviving. But he _knew _that a strong girl like Emily would pull through, and she did. For someone who had encountered a near death experience, she looked amazing, except for the scars and bruises, that would heal with caution and given time. He closed the door before walking over engulfing her in a hug, smiling against the crook of her neck. Soon enough her body began to ache in protest but she didn't want him to let go. Instead, Emily's lips broke into a grin as she wrapped her arms around him, and she breathed in his all too familiar scent. They pulled back, smiling at each other. "Thank God, you're okay Em, I was so worried." Emily touched his hand lightly. "How long was I out?" "Two weeks," Toby told her. Emily's eyes widened in shock. _Two weeks? _

"Whose blood did they give me?" Emily questioned. She hated the topic of blood in general but having a stranger's blood pumping through her body gave her an uneasy feeling. "Mine actually," he replied with a smile. "But you told me your blood type was AB positive." Emily said remembering when they were biology partners and they had to get their fingers pricked and give a blood sample to put on these little cards that would tell them what their blood type was. "Well, I was wrong, it turn's out I'm O negative, just like you." "How much blood did they take?" She could see Toby shift uncomfortably. "4 pints, because by the time we arrived at the hospital you had almost no blood in your body." "Four pints?! That's highly dangerous!" "I know, I passed out for three days, but they kept me healthy by giving me lots of vitamin C." Toby smiled. "Blood is nothing Emily, I would've given you an arm if you needed one." Emily squirmed at the visualization but was deeply touched by thought that came out of it.

Eight long beats on the KEG machine passed before Toby spoke up. "Can we talk, about what happened before the accident? That car came out of no where." Emily's blood pressure spiked from nervousness. _Should she tell him about A? _But if she did, A would definitely find out and do something worse. Not to her this time, but to_ Toby_. Emily couldn't live with herself if Toby got hurt, or even worse- killed by A. She would drop out of school and spend the rest of her life trying to figure A's identity, and then finding a way to kill he or she, whoever A was. Emily reached for the little plastic cup of water, and stuck the straw in her mouth and swallowed the cold water, stalling her answer. She purposely sipped her water slowly, and began to become slightly agitated as Toby waited mutely, his eyes trained on hers intently, waiting for her to finish her water.

Once she set the cup down, she inhaled another, deep but painful breath, and licked her lips. "I don't know who hit us," she whispered, suddenly skeptical that a microphone was planted somewhere within the private hospital room. Suddenly a sharp pain radiated from her side, doubling her over. She cried out scared, as the pain began into increase. "Emily?" Toby asked, his voice laced with alarm. "Get the nurse, please." she chocked out. What felt like several minutes passed before the kind nurse came back and gave her pain killers. The last thing she saw were Toby's shining grey eyes, before her eyes drooped and the tendrils of the pain killers pulled her under.


	3. Release

_everything is quiet as she waits, to tell him who she is. _

_is this all we get to be absolute._

_-x-_

Toby watched the nurse carefully examined Emily's side. Her brows were furrowed in concentration, and her lips in a taut line. After a long five minutes she got back up and looked at Toby. "Something isn't right, we'll need to get an MRI right away." Toby couldn't do anything but nod. He was afraid. Not for himself, but for Emily. He knew that she had gotten an ulcer a while back and even though it was from stress and nothing major, it worried him. Mutely he watched as two more nurses dressed in black and red uniforms come in and transferred Emily onto a gurney take her away, leaving the bed where her body should be recovering slowly, empty.

All Emily could see darkness. She tried to open her eyes, but it felt like someone had glued them together. She felt the dull throbbing sensation of pain in her side. It fell into rhythm with her heart beat. All though she couldn't see her ears worked fine. She head the indistinct chatter of Doctor's arguing. Emily had managed to catch a few words like _pain killers, ... tampered with, ... possible stalker on the loose. _ Her brain managed to string those words together in time flat. They must be talking about how someone had tampered with medication because this was something that they had never experienced before. Only person that would try to hurt her was A. Suddenly she wanted to jump up and tell them everything, but she felt too tired. So she just lay there listening to the whirring of the machine as it scanned her.

Toby was pacing._ Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth._ His heart was pounding. _Please let Emily be okay,_ he prayed as the other side of his brain thought of a list of possibilities. _Maybe they just grabbed the wrong time of IV? Or maybe she had pulled something? Maybe her stitches burst? _Then he quickly remembered Emily telling him she didn't know who hit them before she was doubled over in pain. What if someone is out to hurt her? If that was true, Toby would protect her to the best of his ability. He wasn't afraid to admit it. He was falling for Emily, hard. Just then the nurse from earlier walked up to him. He stopped pacing. "It looks like someone had tampered with the second bag of IV I had replaced a few days earlier, she's completely fine and she'll recover quickly. Toby let out a long breath. "Do you anyone who would try to hurt her ?" "No, not that I know of," he answered tiredly. "Alright. Well for now, we suggest that once she gets out, keep an eye on her." "Of course." Toby said. "Okay, well you can go see Emily now, she's back in her room."

Her eyes fluttered open slowly. The pain in her side was gone. She sat up, her body protested. "Hey Em," she head Toby say. She turned her head to see Toby sitting on a lounge chair on her left. "Hey, you're still here." Emily said, her voice laced with gratefulness. "Of course I stayed sweetheart, I wouldn't leave for the world." Emily's heart skipped a beat. "It turns out someone tampered with your IV." Toby then told her abruptly. Her tired brown eyes widened. "I'm sorry to alarm you like this, I just thought you should know." "It's fine Toby, thank you," replied giving him a warming smile. Slowly he leaned forward and took her hand in his. Her hand was cold and small, which somehow fit perfectly in his warm big ones. They stayed like that for a while. Both of them not wanting to speak.

Hours later, the nurse came in, holding a bag full of her clothes and personal belongings. "Good news Emily, you will can leave right now, you are perfectly healthy and strong enough to get around." Emily broke into a grin which caused Toby to break into a grin himself. "Thank you so much." Emily told her appreciatively as the nurse placed the bag on Emily's bed. "Don't worry, I washed your clothes for you." The nurse explained to her as she took out the IV needle. Emily gave her another smile before watching her slip out the door. Toby stood up. "I'll give you some privacy." Emily nodded before swinging her legs over the side and standing up. It felt odd standing on her own two legs again after being on bedrest for so long.

She slipped off the hospital robe, and stuffed her long legs into her favorite pair of grey skinny jeans. Next she pulled on one of her favorite t-shirts, it was soft and old, but not ratty. She had gotten it at a concert she attended a couple of years ago. Emily had grown alot since then but it still fit like a glove. Lastly she pulled on her simple black cardigan and ballet flats. She then took her purse out and slung it over her shoulder. Emily then ran her fingers through her hair a couple of times before brushing it back and securing it into a ponytail. She opened the curtain. "All right let's go," Emily said excitedly as Toby looked up at her.

"The nurse told me to keep an eye on you for the next while, so you're going to stay with me." Emily nearly choked on her gum. _She was going to stay with Toby? Alone? In his house?_ Her heartbeat sped up. "Thank you," Emily replied her voice rising a little bit as she touched his arm." The drive back was mostly full of silence, as Emily had fallen asleep, her head resting against the cold window. By the time they arrived at Toby's she was still asleep. Slowly, Toby opened the passenger door, and carried her into the house, up to his room and set her down on the bed gently._ She looked like an angel when she is sound asleep,_ Toby noted. Her hair fell over her face lightly, her face peaceful. Without thinking he leaned down and kissed her forehead before closing the door behind him and heading downstairs.


	4. Confessions

_i need a hero. i'm holding for a hero till' the end of the night._

_he's gotta be strong, he's gotta be fast, and he's gotta be larger than life._

_-x-_

She awakes to the glow of evening setting sun shining in her eyes. Emily slowly get's up, her hair mussed as it hangs over her shoulders wildly. Emily tries to gain familiarity with her surroundings, but she has no idea where is for a couple of seconds until it comes back to her. Emily was discharged from the hospital early that afternoon, and she had to stay with Toby for the time being meaning, _she was in his room right now. _Emily carefully looked around, his room was painted a light grey, with a chestnut desk in the corner which contained a sleeping iMac and tons of staked notebooks. Straight in front of her was a mahogany dresser with antique figurines on top. She got off the bed and opened the door. It gave way easily and quietly.

At the top of the stairs she heard the sound of faint chatter coming from the television. Taking a deep breath she walked down the stairs and into the living room where she found Toby sitting on a beautiful dark coloured couch watching television. "Hey Toby," Emily said shyly as she walked over to a love-seat just to the right of Toby, and settled into it, curling her legs under her. Toby turned to face her. "Good evening Snow White," he greeted her. Emily raised an eyebrow. "Toby.. it's sleeping beauty." Emily corrected. "I know, I like Snow White better," he told her. "Oh okay, At least you know your fairytale characters." Emily replied with a laugh. Toby loved Emily's laugh. It was light, infectious, and simple. She turned to face the t.v. "What are you watching?"

"A documentary on jelly fish." Toby informed her. "No way! I love jelly fish," Emily gushed excitedly. He turned to face her again, this time with an eyebrow cocked in surprise." "Emily fields loves jelly fish huh? That's a new one." Emily laughed. "There's so interesting though don't you think? I mean the way they're transparent and have string ling tentacles that just float behind them gracefully, and each tentacle is covered in little hairs that carry pockets of venom?" Emily asked. Toby just stared. "Yeah okay, I guess. I guess they're all interesting and graceful until they sting you and you feel like you're on fire." "Yes, but they are just interesting to learn about and look at." Emily added. "Well since I've been watching this for the past twenty minutes, it would be suitable for me to agree." Toby told her with a smile. Emily smiled back at him.

Toby was extremely kind and caring. She is then hit with an overwhelming feelings including a ton of shame, remembering from back when her and her friends had called Toby the devil and thought he was A.

* * *

The jelly fish documentary finished sooner than she'd liked. Just then her stomach let out a growl, and she covered it with her hand, heat rising to her cheeks. "Toby, do you have anything to eat?" Emily asked breaking the silence. "Sure what would you like?" Toby questioned standing up. "A sandwich would be nice." "One sandwich coming up." Toby said as he walked into the kitchen. Emily leaped up and followed him. "I can make the sandwich Toby, it's no trouble just tell me where everything is." Emily insisted as she walked over to the fridge. Toby turned to her. "Emily you still need to recover, and i'm supposed to be taking care of you. It's no trouble okay?" Emily gave in. "Okay. Thank you Toby. For everything." Emily said as she stood on her tip toes and gave him a hug. He hugged her back. "Anything for a friend," he assured her as he walked over to the fridge and pulled out the bread.

_This sandwich is delicious_ Emily thought to herself as she took another bite. She swallowed and opened her mouth to speak. "Toby this sandwich is amazing, what did you do?" Toby took a sip of water. "Nothing Em, you must be starving that's why it probably tastes like gold." Toby told her with a small smile. _Maybe he's right about the sandwich_. It had been two weeks since she'd had real food in her system. The hospital food made her want to barf. She polished off her sandwich and washed it down with the cold water which had began to fog up the clear glass with condensation. She waited for Toby to finish and collected their dishes. At first Toby had told her that he'd do the dishes himself, but Emily insisted enough times until he finally gave in.

She couldn't just stay here and not _do_ anything. Emily had to do something, even if it was washing wishes to show her appreciation. Emily quickly did the dishes and cleaned up around the sink before joining Toby in the living room. "May I?" Emily asked shyly as she beckoned to the spot next to Toby. He looked at her happily. "Be my guest." "Thank you," she told him as she gingerly lowered herself on to the couch and stretched her long legs out, crossing them at the ankles. Toby felt his heartbeat pick up. She could feel her body heat, and still smell the shampoo from when she had showered at the hospital two days ago. He wanted to but he couldn't. It was too early to spring something on her like this; she needed rest and a friend. For Emily, he would wait without question.

He was being quiet for too long. She turned to him. "Are you okay Toby?" He looked into her shining brown eyes. "I'm fine, I'm just thinking." "About what?" Emily asked. "Well, I wanted to tell you something, but I think it should wait." She turned so that her body was facing him. "Tell me Toby, I can handle it." Emily stated. Toby took a deep breath. "Emily, I think I'm in love with you." Emily's heart stopped for a second. _Toby just told me he's in love with me, oh my god. _Emily looked into his eyes at a loss for words. "I uh, wow, Toby I don't know what to say." "I knew I shouldn't have told you, it's too early.." "No, no, it's fine Toby." Emily quickly consoled him. Then he leaned forward and connected his lips with hers. Emily was hesitant for the first couple of seconds, still in shock. But she slowly melted into him, placing a hand on his shoulder. She liked the way their lips moved in sync and the feeling of his hand on the side of her face.

He broke away. _Oh god, why. _Toby thought. He wasn't thinking straight - No not thinking at all was more like it. Toby looked at Emily whose brown eyes where staring into his own, shining. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -" "It's okay Toby, don't apologize. You were caught up in the moment, and so was I. We can both take the blame okay?" Toby nodded. "Come here." Emily said, before wrapping her arms around him. "Let's just watch a movie." Emily suggested pulling away. "Sure." Toby responded. As the movie started, an uncomfortable tension began to cover the air. But when Emily leaned into him and he put his arm around her, the tension quickly slipped away, as soon as it had started, almost like it was never there in the first place.


	5. Destruction

_you're not alone, i'll listen till your tears give out_  
_you're safe and sound, i swear that i won't let you down._

_-x-_

Two months later, Emily had recovered completely and was feeling free. She had the decision of leaving Toby's because she could take care of herself; but she decided to stay because she didn't like the idea of being alone in that big empty house, because when she was alone and being suffocated by silence all she would do is curl up in bed and just think, and she sure as hell didn't want to think. The only time she would go home was to shower, and change her clothes. Other than that, she was at Toby's. Emily opened the front door and felt a blast of heat waft over her face as she entered the foyer. It was getting colder, and it was extremely easy for Emily to get cold; and if Emily got cold she would get sick. She silently walked into the kitchen to find Toby sitting at the dining table tapping at his phone. "What are you doing?" Emily asked him as she scraped back a chair and sat down, trying to keep her oddly restless hands busy by rolling and unrolling the place mat five times and moving on the a notebook. Emily found a pen and silently began doodling.

"Hey, I'm just checking a date." Toby informed her, his grey eyes still trained on his phone. "For what? Is there a concert in town?" Emily asked. She loved going to concerts; Well mostly because Maya used to drag her to them, and she had gotten all too familiar with the sound of thousands of screaming teenagers and the sight of blinding lasers, and remembering how easily her and Maya would separate from each other if they weren't holding hands; as a sea of fans would always swallow them up, thus causing countless games of Marco Polo. Toby laughed. "Nope." He finally looked up at her, and a smile flickered across his lips. She looked at his eyes in amazement, the way the light caught his deep grey eyes made them look ominous but beautiful. "Are you, Emily Fields up for a camping trip, on the fourth of July?" "I am so up for that!" Emily answered excitedly.

She loved camping. It was a family tradition of the Fields', which always occurred when her father was home which she loved because then it was just the three of them, a real family . "Great, Because I have another surprise, I have my own fireworks, and I say that we light them in a nearby field." Emily smiled but a sour feeling swelled in her stomach. _She remembers Ali lighting that firework and throwing it into the garage, telling the girls that this was perfect revenge for getting Toby back. As they ran away, the firework set off, lighting up the garage. Just then a blood curdling scream rippled through the air, causing all five girls to halt in their tracks and turn around. Emily had asked Ali if she was positive that it was only Toby in there but she was too shocked to answer. A split second later, Alison had pushed them through the backyard just as they heard the nearby wail of a fire truck. _"Emily?" Toby asked, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Yeah?" Emily answered. "Are you okay? you look a little pale.." "I'm fine, don't worry," Emily assured him, giving him a small smile, watching as Toby shook his head and gave her a smile in return.

With that, Emily walked out of the kitchen, and settled onto the couch. She turned on the news and focused. When Emily's father was home he used to watch the news all the time, and Emily would sit on his lap and join him. That was how they spent quality time together. Just then a breaking news banner flashed across the screen. Emily turned up the volume. _ This just in; a plane coming back from Hawaii has just crashed into the pacific ocean. Among the dead, a solider - _A photo slipped across the screen, and Emily's heart stopped her chest. The man was dressed in a camouflage uniform, and had kind brown eyes, and black hair which was speckled with grey. The man on the screen was her _father. _ Her body immediately grew cold, and her vision blurred. A sob closed around her throat, and her hands shook. Toby had heard the news and walked into the room; just in time to see the picture of Emily's father; Wayne Fields, before it faded away.

He sat on the couch and grabbed the remote from her lap and turned it off. Emily turned to him; her eyes glassy, and her lips trembling. "Emily -" Toby began. "Let me watch it, _please_." Toby didn't protest, he handed over the remote and watched her press the power on button with a shaking finger. The screen glowed with life as a reporter's voice broke into the _As confirmed by sources, there are no survivors aboard the plane, seeing as the plane did a nose dive into the water, killing everyone on impact_. Toby had had enough. He put the volume on mute as Emily began to sob. She covered her face with her hands, trying to muffle her cries. Toby pulled her into a bone crushing hug and she cried into his shoulder.

Emily felt light-headed. Her entire world which was slowly starting to repair itself, was now knocked down and reduced to rubble. She couldn't think, breathe, or talk. The tears just kept coming and coming, tumbling down her cheeks haphazardly, and at an alarming rate. Toby felt stuck. He had no idea what to do, and comforting her wasn't helping in the slightest. Nothing could help Emily feel better after being struck with unfathomable news that rocked her world like a rabid storm. Toby wanted oh so desperately to take all her anguish away. She was still recovering on the inside and this one tidbit had cut her open. She was losing herself quicker than she had expected.


	6. Late Nights

A/N: I'm so sorry for not updating in so long, i've been gettign a boatload of homework and babysitting, but i promise i'm back!

* * *

_tell me, did you fall for a shooting star? one without a permanent scar  
and then you missed me, while you were looking for yourself out there?_

_-x-_

* * *

Two days later, Emily lay curled up in her bed, the sheets tangled around her slim but broad swimmer's body like a cocoon. She was just about to doze off when her phone went off again, and she snapped back into alertness. Emily knew it was Toby who was calling. He had been calling her every couple of hours, worried out of his mind, where as the persistency was starting to get on her nerves. As the phone finally stopped ringing, Emily turned and looked out the window. Grey ominous clouds hung in the sky, and it had began to drizzle. The weather reflected her mood. She felt to dreary and gray, not to forget empty. With a sigh, Emily rolled over and unwound herself out of her warm web of sheets, before clambering off into her bathroom.

As soon as Emily turned on the light and looked at her reflection; she gasped. Her skin was ghastly pale, purple rings bloomed underneath her eyes; her lips were extremely dry and stained with a little bit of blood, and her hair looked tangled and disheveled. Turning away from her horrid reflection, Emily turned on the shower, and waited until swirls of steam danced around the room. She quickly stripped off her clothes and stepped into the direct stream of scalding hot water. She let out a sigh of bliss as the water trailed smoothly down her spine. Emily slowly turned around and let the water run across the front of her body before grabbing a washcloth and pouring some vanilla-lavender scented body wash onto it and lathering her body with the body wash, as the comforting scent filled the bathroom. After lathering and repeating shampoo and conditioner Emily rinsed off her body and hair then wrapped a fluffy red towel around herself, knotting it underneath her arm; before grabbing another towel and wrapping it around her hair.

When Emily stepped into her room, she was hit by a rush of cold air. She turned to her left, to find her bedroom window open. Shivering, she walked over and shut the window and locked it before walking over to the thermostat and turning up the heat. Walking back to her bed; Emily unwrapped the towel from her head and bent over, running her fingers through her hair before grabbing her paddle-brush and brushing out the extra knots. Just as Emily flipped her hair back up, a small knock sounded at her door. Emily looked up to see Toby standing there, his arms crossed against his chest. "Jesus Toby! What are you doing here?" Emily asked as she wrapped the towel tighter around herself, her face growing hot. "You weren't answering your phone, and when I knocked on your door yesterday, you didn't answer, and I got worried so.." "Well you know what, my life is a total mess right now, so what would you expect?" Emily snapped. She saw a bit of hurt gather in Toby's eyes. "Look Toby, I'm sorry it's just-" "It's fine Em, don't worry," Toby cut in. "Anyway I'm here to pick you up." Emily looked at him confused.

"I think you've forgotten but our camping is tomorrow." Emily turned to look at her calender. Sure enough it was July third. She had completely forgotten, as her thoughts where completely wrapped around her father that the camping trip didn't even cross her mind. "I completely forgot. Uhm let me get dressed, and pack." "Alright." With that Emily closed the door, and changed into a cotton blue dress pairing it with some patterned stockings and a black cardigan. After she finished changing she opened the door and motioned for Toby to sit on her bed, as she leaned down and grabbed a her swim duffel from underneath her bed, and opened up the zipper before walking over to her dresser and opening up the top one. "How long is this trip?" Emily asked Toby, as she examined her neatly stacked assortment of t-shirts and blouses. "Four days," Toby answered, as she watched her pull out three t-shirts and three blouses and carefully insert them into the duffel bag with ease. Emily decided to pack the essentials last, using the time that Toby was in the bathroom to grab a couple of bra's, boyshorts, and tampons, and secretly stash them into the duffel bag with one swift motion. Just as Toby emerged from the bathroom, she was zipping up her duffel and slipping her fully charged phone into her cardigan pocket. "Let's get this trip on the road!"

* * *

The windows were rolled down, as the rain drizzled on outside and the cool air danced across their faces. Emily and Toby had each brought their iPod's to hook up to Toby's car. It was Emily's turn, and she smiled and turned up the volume as one of her favourite songs came on shuffle -Paradise by Coldplay- . Soon enough Emily began singing along, her voice clear and strong. Toby turned and smiled at her as she smiled back and asked him to sing along with him. Before they knew it, the song turned into a duet. As the song came to an end, Emily felt her heart fill with something warm: happiness. It was a wonderful feeling, and she was glad it was back. Ever since hearing about her dad, she was certain that she was stuck in the dark, always having to cry herself to sleep, but boy was she wrong. As it turned out, allowing yourself to be accompained is the best treatment to help you step into the light, and really embrace life.

The camp site was located in a clearing, which was surrounded with foliage about twenty feet high, and the scent of pine needles and fresh air lingered in the atmosphere. Emily breathed in deeply, the smell clearing her mind and cleansing her senses. "Toby this place is amazing, how'd you find it?" "I came camping here with a couple of friends a few years ago," Toby answered her from behind, as he set the tents down in the middle and stretched out his arms. Emily headed back to the truck and pulled out the lawn chairs, cooler, and iPod speakers. As she set down the items, she walked over bushes and grabbed a couple chunks of wood before dropping them into the fire pit and striking a match, before stepping back and watching as a fire rose with a _whoosh_. Toby turned around. "I just love the smell of camp fire don't you?" "I love it," Emily said as she placed the match's on the ground next to her lawn chair.

As night fell, the two friends were changed into more comfortable clothes, and seated on the chairs, roasting marshmallows; engaging in conversation as music slowly tinkled out of the speakers, and the stars twinkled overhead. It wasn't long before Yellow by Coldplay began to play, and some sort of a blush crept along Emily's cheek's; but she was grateful it was hidden by the orangey flame of the fire. Toby looked at her, she was absolutely breathtaking. Ever since he had kissed her last time at his house, his feelings for her had escalated, and he was just trans-fixed on her. "This song is perfect for this night," he heard Emily say as she craned her neck up to look at the stars. "It is," Toby agreed as he too looked up to see the clusters of stars dotting the pitch black sky; and they appeared to be twinkling, almost as if they where winking.


	7. Footloose

_ tell me you love me, come back and haunt me  
oh and i rush to the start, running in circles, chasing our tails  
coming back as we are; nobody said it was easy._

_-x-_

That morning, Emily awoke to the sound of chirping birds. She slowly opened her eyes and stretched. A smile spread across her lips as she remembered where she was. She was on a camping trip with Toby; getting away from that dreaded town that went by the name of 'Rosewood', the drama, and especially 'A'. Once she quickly changed into some faded blue jeans and a red tank top, she made her way out of her tent and walked over to sit down her chair as Toby handed her a bowl of cereal. Emily looked down at her cereal then up at Toby perplexed. Toby laughed. "My friends & I built a cabin here which is equipped with a bathroom and kitchen which includes a fridge, and there's a little convenience store a few miles west..." "The cabin includes a bathroom? Thank god." Emily said as Toby just laughed again. As they both finished up their breakfasts and did the dishes, Emily and Toby went off into the thick forest to find some fire wood. "So what's our plan for tonight?" Emily asked as she cut off a couple of branches with a knife that Toby had lent her. "It's a surprise Em," he told her. "But-" "No buts; this is a well planned surprise and I don't want you to find out." Toby informed her. "Okay," Emily replied, as she brought the serrated edge against a defenseless branch.

Night fell quickly as Toby had ordered Emily to stay in her tent as he was in the field setting up the surprise that would supposedly 'take her breath away'. She had kept her restless self occupied by doodling in her notebook; which kept her busy until she ended up doodling Toby's name and she quickly closed her notebook almost like writing down his name was a curse. After the notebook she moved on to reading the books _The Truth About Forever _and _The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants_. By the time she had finished the books, Toby had finally told her that she could come out of the stuffy cabin. As soon as Emily walked down he steps, Toby placed a bandana over her eyes and led her by the hand to the center of an open field. After the bandana was untied and fell away from her eyes; all Emily could do was stare. There, in the middle of the field where rows of fireworks, contained in different sizes and shapes. Just as Emily turned to Toby he pressed a button into her hand. "Would you like to do the honours?" "Of course." Emily breathed, as she took a deep breath and pressed the red button.

Seconds later, fireworks erupted with crackles, pops, snaps, and bangs. Toby watched as Emily's eyes were trans-fixed at the black sky which was quickly being filled with dazzling, brilliant, shimmering; reds, oranges, blue's, purple's and golds. He also noticed the way the fireworks' reflected back onto her brown pupils, causing the colour's to merge and blur together. Toby then slipped two sparkler's into Emily's hands and told her to hold still as he lit them. "Do your thing," Toby told her, as soon enough she had run out into the middle of the field and began twirling; her arms outstretched as a laugh escaped her lips. As Emily was oblivious and in a state of magical enjoyment, Toby seized the opportunity to grab his Polaroid camera and snap a perfect shot of her. As soon as the photo developed, Toby felt is heart beat fast. The photo was absolutely breathtaking, as it portrayed Emily with the sparklers in her hands, as her hair danced in the minuscule breeze, and a smile was glued across her lips. But what tugged at his heart where her eyes. Her eyes where a deep mahogany, and shone brightly almost as if light was emerging from the back of them.

As soon as her sparklers burnt out, Emily walked over to her iPod dock and found the playlist that she had planned for the day. As the melodies of Hellogoodbye's _Here In Your Arms _began to play, Emily grabbed Toby's hand and led him into the middle of the fireworks and willed him to dance with her. Toby definitely wanted to dance with her, and as the song changed into _Paradise By the Dashboard Light_, Toby had gotten so into the song that he had begun grabbing her hands and jiving with her; he heard her laughter ring in his ears as he spun her, then slid her underneath his legs before twisting back around and spinning her again. Emily never knew that Toby was _this_ good a dancer; she thought that he knew basic foot steps and certain moves, but he was spectacular. It was a good thing she too was a good dancer, because if she wasn't, boy would she be tripping all over the place and killing the mood. Emily felt herself frown as the energetic song came to an end, and a slow soft song began to play. Slowly Toby stepped back and bowed, offering her his hand. A blush crept across Emily's cheeks. "May I have this dance?" "Of course," Emily said before placing her hand in his, letting his hand drop to her waist as Emily placed her other hand his shoulder.

They moved with a peaceful grace, rocking back and forth as the slight breeze blew softly through Emily's silky deep brown hair, flowing around her head like a halo. All Toby could do was look into her eyes; as they were now twinkling and shining with emotion as she looked back into his own crisp, crystal blue orbs which were as a clear as glacier water. As the song ended, and another soft one began, Emily curled one hand around the back of his shoulder and lay her head against the crook of his neck, looking at the view behind him. "Emily what song is this?" Toby asked quietly, as if he was afraid speaking loudly would ruin the quiet surrounding them. "The Scientist by Coldplay," Emily whispered back. "Oh okay, I really like it." Toby told her, before quickly falling back into silence and continuing to sway back and forth. Emily lifted her head from his shoulder and straightened her back, before looking into Toby's eyes again. God, she just couldn't stop looking at them. There was always about his eyes that pulled her in, and left her wondering what type of things those eyes have analyzed, seen, and what secrets lay behind them, but little did she know that Toby felt the same way.

As they danced on, Toby caught a whiff of Emily's light but heady perfume. It smelled of sweet flowers, mixed in with raspberries and a hint of vanilla. Emily was absolutely beautiful, graceful, and intelligent. She was just intoxicating to him, almost like a beautiful mystery that was just waiting to be solved by whoever dared to unlock the secrets of this girl who was just like every other teenager out there. Over the past few days Toby had been carefully contemplating whether he should express his feelings or not. In the end, he was caught in a dead-lock as he knew that there was a fifty perfect chance where she would say that she was feeling the same way or her telling him that she would just prefer if they just stayed friends. But Toby just decided to go with his heart, and his heart told him to just take the risk. So since then Toby had planned to express his feelings for her during the big fireworks display. Which was about the end, so he knew that he had to make his move; as it was either _now _or _never_.

"Hey Em, there's something I need to tell you.." "What is it Toby?" Emily asked, looking up at him, her heart picking up speed. "Remember how I told you at my house last time that I thought I was in love with you?" _Here goes everything. _"Well I wasn't thinking, I am in love with you, like 100%" Emily's heart felt as if it was going to jump out of her chest. _There he said it. He is head over heels in love. Now what about her? _Emily tried to speak, but her tongue felt leaden in her mouth. She wasn't good with words, especially when it came to verbally expressing one's feelings. She licked her lips and pushed herself to speak. "Toby, wow. Everything's a little fuzzy right now, but I feel the same way." _Everything's a little fuzzy? God what an idiot. _Emily thought to herself, but was thrown out her thoughts by Toby's face coming closer into her field of vision and blurring as he came closer and closer. It was then that their lips connected, and all coherent thought swam into the back of her head and the sound of her heartbeat overwhelmed her ears. Toby felt his insides shine as he mentally gave himself a thumb's up for going with his true gut feeling. Just to hear Emily say that she too liked him back sent him over the moon, and all of the sudden he wished he could capture this moment on his Polaroid camera which lay abandoned feet away.


End file.
